A blog trying to focus on all the nice things in life, those moments when everything turns out right. Finding the perfect fabric for that chart you love, the ideal sampler quote, just the right picture in all the 1000s of magazines you own. Meeting people who share your interests and obsessions and totally understand why you NEED that chart when you already have enough to last until you're 104

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Tuesday, 31 May 2016

The festival of Whit Sunday was originally a combination of Pentecost (the 7th Sunday after Easter) and Beltane (the Pagan start of Summer) and is now commemorated with a long Bank Holiday weekend the last weekend in May. The schools combine it with the Half Term Holiday so the children get the entire week off and not just Monday.

As is traditional to start the English Summer, it will be cold and rainy. We had a thunderstorm last night. The Small Boy and I did manage to visit The Plant Man and buy some fuchsias and bedding plants though.

And I did some stitching while watching Floss Tube (or Flaaaaaas Tube as the Large Boy calls it. When he's not saying "Nifty Needle Nannies" a la Katie the Stash Queen!). I am continuing with Little Snap Dragon, right down to the bottom of his tail. Thankfully this area has much less confetti so progress is quicker. All of the tail stitched is just one colour so far:

And here is the whole piece with a tape measure for size. I am not sure if you can see those numbers but that is roughly 12 inches or 30 cm from the metal tip to the red number near the tail.

Lots of progress on Just Nan's My Fair Ladybird too:

stitched on 28 count evenweave

And now the special Whitsun pie:

You can see that Snapdragon is way out in front this month but Snowy Cottage had 14 days from last month. Once again, there are more than 31 days because some days I stitched on two designs.

Finally, after last month's blow out I wasn't intending to buy anything this month. Until Brooke Nolan announced a special May Day Sale, everything in her Etsy store half price. These two fell into my cart! Hubby's niece is getting married later this year and loves sugar skulls so these two will be perfect for her.

Sunday, 29 May 2016

Having commented on all the different greens in this design I haven't actually used any of them this week - it's been blue all the way. When I got him out of the bag earlier this month I wondered why I had chosen such a big bit of fabric for what appeared to be quite a small design. As I'm stitching him, it turns out he's not so tiny after all! The finished design will be 11.5 inches by 16.5 inches. So he needs that larger fabric.

Last weekend for IHSW I worked on Elizabeth Shephard for two days. I was in a "border mood" so I I stitched the entire borders for two motifs and then made a start on the swan.

stitched on 30 count linen

You can see how close I am getting now. Definite finish by the end of the Summer.

Many of you know about my "bathtime stitching", this is a piece I work on in the bathroom each evening while my son has his bath! He needs adult supervision but doesn't want me playing with him - I might splash him LOL. So I stitch. Sometimes I chose a large monchrome piece so I don't have to worry about colour changes but recently it has been Smalls. In an effort to fit them into the rotation somehow.

Here is a little freebie from Just Nan:

stitched on 28 count evenweave

Remember back in the pre-internet days when your LNS gave out freebies from your favourite designers? Just Nan used to print them on a stiff pink paper and I have a small collection. I have stitched a few and have fabric for a few more. This one is called My Fair Ladybug and you attach a little ladybird charm in the centre of the design. Won't take long to stitch up.

Finally, you all know I'm a big fan of Hallowe'en and general spookiness! I signed the Hallowe'en Ornie SAL Blog up for this event:

There were short stories, top tens of monster and monster films, a bit of crafting and a wonderful monster make-up montage, plus the best of our cross stitched monsters.

Thursday, 26 May 2016

For the Hallowe'en Blog I have done something a little different this year, I've chosen a band sampler by Just Nan called Counting Bats and each band corresponds to the monthly themes on the blog. May's theme was Spiders and I stitched this band:

stitched on 32 count lilac linen

That is one giant spider! I am not surprised the ghosts are fleeing.

Here is the whole piece with my special scissors and fob:

The theme on the Christmas Ornie SAL blog was Reindeer and I decided to stitch one of Daffycat's cute little reindeer freebies. In the event, I stitched three of them! Jinglebell, Holly and Mistletoe.

I also completed another Small, this time as part of the Stitch Maynia Colour-a-Day SAL, which was Red.

stitched on 28 count Platinum linen

This was a gift from Vickie so I will be sending it back out into the world as part of June's Gifted Gorgeousness post. So keep your eyes open then! I used the charted DMC 902 for the darker red and substituted 3722 for the charted 3726 which looked too brown to me. I also used standard size beads instead of the charted petite. The standard beads filled the spaces much better than the petites. Plus I had them in my stash and didn't have the petites!

Having completed that piece I needed something simple to start straightaway and chose the second in a series called Winter Woods by The Little Stitcher. Only a couple of evenings bathtime stitching and a lunchbreak at work and it was done:

stitched over one on 32 count Vintage Grain linen

Here is the previous piece in this series:

There is one more and I'll scrapbook them together.

I almost forgot my other Small! Inspired by our host Heather, I stitched on the Teresa Wentzler Byzantine Ornaments too. I used burgundy fabric and changed the colours too:

Finally, in my last post I showed a picture of Just Nan's Haunted Pumpkins Tree and said I couldn't remember what happened to it. I found it! In a sensible place, surprisingly. I had put the finished piece into the bag with the chart and put them back into my Just Nan bag. There are a LOT of charts in that bag. Maybe I'll pull out a JN small to start tonight.

Saturday, 21 May 2016

Each month we have to share the projects we want to complete before the End Of The World.

The focus of my WIPocalypse will be my "16 in '16" which are 16 projects I particularly wanted to concentrate on in 2016. The full list can be found on my WIPocalypse page where you can also find my secondary list "16 Series in '16".

My main goal is to keep to my rotation of one small every Friday and the rest of the month working on my focus piece until it is finished. I also have a number of SALs I want to keep up with:

The Alphabet Club - a different letter on the first Saturday of each month

Gifted Gorgeousness - post anything gifted on the 15th

Hallowe'en Ornie Blog - a different spooky theme each month

Christmas Ornie Blog - a different festive theme each month

Smalls SAL - last Thursday of each month

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And now for the progress report:

I have worked on 4 out of 16 projects since my last WIPocalypse, plus 3 from my series list.

4. Little Snowy Cottage by Nora Corbett - Finish

stitched on 32 count Blue Hydrangea opalescent by Crafty Kitten

5. Little Snap Dragon by Kustom Krafts - WIP

stitched on 32 count Evening Sky Murano by Crafty Kitten

11. Elizabeth Shephard by Scarlet Letter - WIP

stitched on 30 count linen

I stitched the green border and the brown at the bottom

16. Counting Bats by Just Nan - WIP

stitched on 32 count lilac linen

And for the series:

6. Stitcher's Alphabet by Brooke's Books - WIP

9. Spring Typography by Just Nan - Finish

16. Byzantine Ornaments by Teresa Wentzler - 1 finished

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Measi always gives us a topic to discuss too:

May - What were you stitching this time last year and have you finished it?
For the May 2015 WIPocalypse post I had three finishes and one new start which I finished very quickly:

stitched on 28 count Chocolate Orange evenweave from Crafty Kitten

The question is - did I frame it, and if so, where is it? I don't recall framing it. I must find out. I didn't scrapbook it because of that charm. So where is it...

On the 20th May I blogged about another newish start; Pretty Little London from Satsuma Street. Now that one I did scrapbook and here it is:

So I did pretty well. Elizabeth Shephard is still an active WIP from last year but apart from her, most of the pieces I was stitching on have been completed. The ones that haven't were starts for the DUCJC which are on the list to be worked on this year.

Finally, I didn't do the DUCJC this year or the Stitch Maynia this May but I did see a Flosstube made by Tracy P where she attempted to start all 15 projects in one evening. She managed 7 before collapsing! But it got me thinking about attempting something similar. A WIP marathon on the Longest Day of the Year. Which is Monday the 20th June this year. I could start at 9am when the boys have gone to school, stitch for 4 hours, break for lunch, stitch for another 4 hours, break for tea and possibly manage another 90 minutes in the evening. Allowing 30 minutes per WIP that would be 18/19 projects in one day! So that would be all my WIPS, some of my UFOs, and the rest would be from my Series list so not really lots of new starts. Who else is in and who just wants to watch the fun?!

Thursday, 19 May 2016

I first saw this design in an advert in a cross stitch magazine back when I didn't have the internet at home. I thought it was lovely and wondered where I could get it.

Fast forward a few years and I started blogging and entering giveaways. Lesley from Lesley's Stitching Diary was the host for one of them. Can you believe my luck when back in April 2012 I won the chart I had seen all those years before? Little Snap Dragon is designed by Dyan Allaire for Kustom Krafts. Later that year I received the threads for the design in a magazine exchange with Kathy (I sent her a UK mag and she sent me the threads plus a very long Joann's receipt!) And there they sat, in my stash binding their time.

That time came last year with the DUCJC and my Gifted Gorgeousness SAL. When I was sorting our my GG stash I knew Little Snap Dragon had to be included. In fact he was the first project of the DUCJC2015 started on 1st January, 2015. And here is how far I got:

And then back in the box for the rest of the year! I included him in my "16 in '16" this year and the lucky little dragon's number came up this month! I restarted him on Monday 16th May and here he is after another four days' stitching:

Anyway, it's looking lovely and my highlighter pens are doing overtime. The fabric is another 32 count Murano from Crafty Kitten. This one is Evening Sky.

Finally, another shout out for my Birthday Blog Year - The Years of Jo's Life. If you decide to take part, I will allocate you a year and an event which you blog about and include a photo of something you have stitched that you think I will like. Drop me an email if you need more details! The blog hop will take place on the 17th September this year.

Sunday, 15 May 2016

Welcome to the Gifted Gorgeousness link-up post! The link-up date will continue to be the 15th of each month but I will keep the linky open until the end of each month so you have plenty of time to join in.

The format remains EXACTLY the same as last year so I'm sure you are all aware of what can be included - gifts to and from you; charts, fabric or threads; shoe-horns welcome!

Since my last GG post I have worked on a few gifted pieces:

Elizabeth Shepherd by The Scarlet Letter - a gift from Nicola:

stitched on 30 count linen

Counting Bats by Just Nan - a gift from Epic Mel:

stitched on 32 count lilac linen

Those scissors were a gift too, from Heather of It's Geek to Me. The scissor chain was made by a friend of mine too.

We had a Happy Dance on Nora Corbett's Little Snowy Gray Cottage - a gift from Nataly's Needle:

And continued progress on The Sweetheart Tree's Finger Fun 1 - a gift from Vickie:

stitched on 28 count Platinum linen

Here is the place for you to link up so we can see what Gifted Gorgeousness you have been stitching so far this year. Please use your name or your blog name in the field NOT the words "May Update" so I can easily see who has linked up this month.

And link to the actual post, not just your blog. It is easier if you copy and paste the link, rather than typing freehand.

Thank you. I can amend links if you make a boo-boo though.

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I'm not aware of any GGG (Gifted Gorgeousness Giveaway) this month, I'm not hosting one myself but if you are, let me know and I'll add a link here!

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Finally, The Days of Jo's Life Big Birthday Blog Hop was been launched and is taking sign-ups. The Hop will be on the 17th September. To take part all you have to do is leave a comment or email me. Nearer the date I will allocate you a Year of My Life and on the 17th September you do a blog post about that year or that life event in your life or what you were doing at that age (assuming you are that old!). Also, post something you have stitched which you think I will like.

The Rainbow Gallery Arctic Rays is weird stuff, it's like metallic Whisper and likes to form hairballs on the back of your fabric! Where the two sides of diagonal stitches meet in the middle the fabric is a little puckered (you can see in the last photo) but hopefully it won't show so much when it is stretched and framed.

It will need a deep rebate on the frame because of those huge beads on top of the wall posts.

The nicest thread was the Kreinik 9294 used for the walls of the house, I love the colour and ir was so easy to stitch with, a pleasure!

I finished the Cottage this morning which left me some stitching space for the afternoon. The second Friday of the month is for the Christmas Ornie SAL which is usually my Primitive Hare Christmas Cubes. But there isn't a Cube which fits this month's theme of Reindeer. So that gave me the excuse to finally start a series I have been hoarding for about five years! Daffycat's annual reindeer freebie!

Jinglebell Reindeer from 2008

I didn't stitch him twice but I couldn't decide which photo looked better. The colours are more accurate in the top one but you can see him better in the bottom one.

I stitched him over one on 28 count silvered white evenweave using the following colours:

Brown - 801

Green - 3346

Red - 815

Beads - 40557

I changed the red and green because colours can look different when you stitch over one and I wanted them to be a little brighter.

The reindeer himself took exactly one hour to stitch. I timed myself. The border took longer because my son came home from school and there were snack interruptions and I was needed to read the subtitles on a YouTube clip to him!

I have enough fabric to stitch eight of them, there are nine so far. I plan to stitch six of them and finish into a cube ornament and hope that Daffycat does three more so I can have two cubes! If not, then I will "flip" three of them and stitch them reversed. I will have to get some more fabric though.

In the evenings I have been working on this sweet little chart from Sweetheart Tree:

stitched on 28 count Platinum linen

I am pleased with how well the blackwork shows up in the photo. It is quite time consuming, the top border took two evenings to complete (doing about 30 minutes per session).

Finally, I joined a new-to-me FB group called Cross Stitch Finish Line which is all about celebrating different types of finishes, encouraging WIPs to become finishes and they host themed events too. My shoe horn and I do enjoy a good themed SAL (I still miss Theme-a-licious). The first one will be Sing Me a SAL starting 15th May. Anything song-related will fit. Now, I have completed another one of my 16 WIPocalypse projects so I will be continuing with one of the others. Gathering Honey is earmarked for a later SAL and I have three dragon-themed projects to choose from!

So any suggestions for Dragon-themed songs APART from the obvious Puff the Magic Dragon.

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About Me

I'm a stitcher from the East of England, married with two boys.
I've been stitching since 1993 and have a dated sampler to prove it! I love the cross stitch chat forums and discovered blog-stalking a while back then started one of my own.
I love to stitch fantasy themes and samplers most of all. Mirabilia, L&L, Just Nan, Joan Elliot and TW are my favourites but my ambition is to stitch a Chatelaine...one day!
edit to say - 2017 is that day! I officially started my first Chatelaine mandala on 10th February 2017.